Burial-vault.



N0. 843,314. PATENTED PEB. 5, 1907. W. K. WATERS.

BURIAL VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. PATENTED FEB. 5, 1907. W. K. WATERS.

BURIAL VAULT.

ARPLIOATION FILED JAN.30. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L'LecGeG:

FFIOE.

WILLIE K. VATLHS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

BURIAL-VAU LT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1907.

Application tiled JanuarySO, 1905. Serial No. 243.343.

10 all when@ t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIE K, WATERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of N ew York, have invented certain new and whether the cement occupies said space completely. In this manner the exposed portions of the body are sealed within the plastic matter, for which I preferably use cement.

, This docs not, however, provide for sealing useful Improvements in Grave-Vaults, ofi

which the following is a specification.

-- My invention relates to an improved grave-vault, and it has for its object to provide an improved vault to preserve the remains of a dead subject for a long period of time and to render the casket easily accessible, so that the,dead subject may be disinterred for shipment to a distant point.

Further objects are to provide a cheap substitute for expensive vaults constructed of masonry and expensive marble or slate slabs, to retain all the advantages of an expensive vault, and to provide improved means for sealing the casket in an air-tight and water-tight manner.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts to be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a grave in longitudinalsection, showing my invention applied to the burial of a body. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through a portion of line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the casket and open casket-box prior to placing the cement slab thereon. Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of the angle-iron frame secured to the upper edge of the side walls ol' the' casketbox. Fig. 5 is a perspective invertedview ofthe cement slab or cover for the casketbox.

Referring to the drawings in detail, like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The letter A designates the grave, which is prepared in the usual manner, but is somewhat wider and longer than the casket-box it is to receive.

In carrying out my invention I provide the cover of the casket B at the head thereof with an opening which receives a plate ol` glass or other transparent material C` to expose the face of the dead subject toview prior to burial. aperture l) is provided through which a plastic substance E is poured to entirely fill the space between the body and the walls ofthe casket, and when thus sealing the body 1t may be determined through the glass C At the foot of the casket an l Y sides of said box;l

those portions of the body in contact with the bed within the casket. I therefore provide for setting the casket within a cementlined casket-box or by sealing the casket within the casket-box F. When sealing the casket within the casket-box, it is supported on blocks or strips of wood or other suitable material G to provide an intervening space between the bottom of said box and the bottom of the casket, the casket-box being made somewhat longer and wider than the casket to provide space all around the latter, and in this surrounding space and the space underneath the casket a plastic substance g, of cement or other suitable material, is poured, which completely seals the casket. In this manner the body is sealed all around, as the cement between the casket and the casketbox extends above the cement inthe casket, thereby providing two broken layers of lcement which overlap with the side and end walls of the casket lying between the overlapping portions of the two layers'.

On the upper side of the casket-box I secure a metallic frame Il, formed of angle-iron and, like 'the casket-box, being of rectangular formation, as shown in Fig. 4. This frame'is fastened to the casket-box by screws I or other suitable means and provides a vertical ledge h, adapted to enter a groove formed on the under side of a slab or cover J, constructed, by preference, of cement, but which 'may Abc of slate, granite, or any other suitable material,if desired. This constructionforms a perfectly water-tight connection and permits the slab or cover J to be removed when desired. When placingl the body into the grave, a quantity of the plastic substance is podre into the latter, and the casket-box, with the casket sealed as above described, is lowered into the grave onto the cement bottom, The

grave is somewhat larger than the casket-box rto provide a space all around the latter, and in this space the plastic substance is poured, as at K, to completely inclose the bottom and The lastic substance is poured into the grave to a lieight cvenwith the top of the slab or box-cover J, and therefore the cement substance adheres to the edges of said cover and securely seals the joint between IOO . ledge h, entering 'groove j in the slabywvould the cover and the box. iin this manner the rloosened from the cover, leakage of Waterbetween the cover and box is impossible, as Vthe prevent the passage of the same. After 'the body is thus sealed the grave is filled with earth inthe manner now common. A

As shown; the sealing-cement around the casketfbox comes in contact with the edges of the cover of the-latter and, with said coverr serves to completely7 house the body Within cement, thus providing a cheap and durable substitute for a vault `and possessing all the advantages of the latter. lt isalso apparent from the foregoing thatv if the cement filling between the casket and the casket-box is ap-r plied to the inside of said box and allowed to set before placing the casket therein the latter can be easily removed from said boxat will after removing the cover of the latter.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is* A In a grave-vault, the combination with a casket-box, of an angle-iron frame providing a vertical ledge mounted on the upper edge of the box, means for securing-the frame to the box, supports Within the boxfa coffin on said supports having a glass plate mounted in an .opening at one end thereof, plastic substance between the box and coflin, a sealing sub` stance Within the coiiin and an opening therelin for admitting said substance, a cover formed of plastic material and having an annular channel to engage the vertical ledge of `the frame, and plastic material surrounding the boxand overlapping the joint between the box and cover.

n testimony whereof l have affixed my signature in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. v

t WILLIE K. WATERS. Witnesses:

EMIL NEUHART, yJuntas LAUKES. 

